1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a walking exerciser, more particularly to a walking exerciser that is provided with a mechanically operated treadmill body so as to facilitate folding and unfolding of the treadmill body with respect to a horizontal frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional walking exerciser 10 is shown to include a base member 11 and an elongated treadmill body 12. The base member 11 includes a horizontal frame 110 with front and rear portions (111,112), a pair of upright posts 14,15 that are disposed on and that extend upwardly from the front portion 111 of the horizontal frame 110, and a handgrip member 16 attached to upper ends of the upright posts 14,15. The treadmill body 12 is laid over the base member 11, and has a front portion 121 connected pivotally to the front portion 111 of the horizontal frame 110 so that the treadmill body 12 can be turned upwardly on the base member 11 to a folded position, and a rear portion 122 that abuts against the handgrip member 16 when the treadmill body 12 is rotated to the folded position (not shown).
Some of the drawbacks of the aforesaid conventional walking exerciser are as follows:
1. Folding of the treadmill body 12 relative to the upright posts (14,15) of the base member 11 is done manually, thereby inconveniencing the user of the conventional walking exerciser.
2. At the folded position, the treadmill body 12 is only propped against the handgrip member 16. Thus, accidental collision to the treadmill body 12 may result in falling of the same over the horizontal frame 110, thereby exposing a nearby person to the risk of injury.
Therefore, the main object of this invention is to provide a walking exerciser with a mechanically operated treadmill body.
The secondary object of this invention is to provide a walking exerciser having a control device for controlling extension and retraction of a threaded rod relative to a tube so that alternate extension and retraction of the threaded rod results in folding of the treadmill body on an upright frame, thereby retaining the treadmill body securely at the folded position so that accidental falling of the treadmill body over a horizontal frame can be avoided.
Accordingly, the walking exerciser of the present invention includes a supporting member which has a horizontal frame with front and rear portions, and an upright frame that is disposed on and that extends uprightly from the horizontal frame, a treadmill body attached to and disposed over the rear portion of the horizontal frame and located at a horizontal position, an inclination adjustment mechanism, a control device, an elongated restricting element, a guiding member, and a projection. The inclination adjustment mechanism includes two rear links, two front links, two horizontal first pivots, a horizontal second pivot, a slide slot, a sliding roller unit, a connecting member, a movable tube, a threaded rod, and a drive unit. The rear links are secured to each other and are disposed at a horizontal position. Rear ends of the rear links are mounted pivotally on the rear portion of the horizontal frame. The first pivots extend through the front ends of the rear links, and are attached to the treadmill body, thereby connecting the rear links rotatably to the treadmill body. The front links are disposed in a horizontal position, and have front ends, and rear ends that are sleeved rotatably and respectively on the first pivots. The slide slot is formed in the supporting member, and extends rearwardly from the front portion of the horizontal frame to the rear portion of the horizontal frame. The sliding roller unit is mounted rotatably on one of the front ends of the front links, and is received slidably within the slide slot in the supporting member. The connecting member interconnects the front links fixedly. The movable tube has a first end that is connected pivotally to the connecting member, and a second end that has an end surface formed with a threaded hole in the tube. The threaded rod has a first end portion that engages threadedly the threaded hole in the tube, and a second end portion. The second pivot is disposed to extend in a direction parallel to the first pivots, and passes through the second end portion of the threaded rod for connecting the threaded rod rotatably to the treadmill body. The drive unit is disposed on one of the supporting member and the treadmill body, and is connected operably to the threaded rod for rotating the same to result in relative movement between the tube and the threaded rod. The control device controls actuation and stopping of the drive unit in a selected mode. The restricting element is disposed to extend longitudinally within the slide slot in the supporting member, and permits movement of the sliding roller unit thereon. The restricting element has a rear portion that is connected pivotally to the rear portion of the horizontal frame and that is formed with a rear positioning notch, and a front portion that is formed with a front positioning notch. The sliding roller unit is disposed in front of the front positioning notch in the restricting element. The guiding member is disposed fixedly on the horizontal frame, and is formed with an inclined limiting groove that has a closed upper end. The projection is attached to the front section of the treadmill body, and extends toward the guiding member.
The drive unit can be activated by the control device to move the tube away from the threaded rod so that the sliding roller unit moves rearward to a first position, where the sliding roller unit engages the first positioning notch in the restricting element and where the drive unit is stopped by the control device, thereby disposing the treadmill body at a first inclined position, where the front section of the treadmill body is disposed higher than the rear section of the treadmill body. When the treadmill body is disposed at the first inclined position, the drive unit can be activated by the control device to move the tube toward the threaded rod so that the rear section of the treadmill body turns upwardly about the second pivot to a second inclined position, where the rear section of the treadmill body is disposed higher than the front section of the treadmill body, where the projection slides into and is limited within the limiting groove, and where the drive unit is stopped by the control device. Subsequently, the drive unit is activated by the control device to move the tube away from the threaded rod so that the projection moves to the upper end of the limiting groove and so that the sliding roller unit moves rearward to a second position, where the sliding roller unit engages the rear positioning notch in the restricting element and where the drive unit is stopped by the control device. Thereafter, the drive unit is activated by the control device to move the tube toward the threaded rod so that the rear section of the treadmill body continues to turn upward about the second pivot to a vertical position, where the drive unit is stopped by the control device.